


Compromised

by seekersDownfall (serendipitousDescent)



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F, The Winter Palace (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 15:04:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5421515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendipitousDescent/pseuds/seekersDownfall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She smiled, a small thing that revealed only as much as Leliana allowed it to. “Look at the way they watch her. It’s far different from when we first arrived. Once I’d gotten word that the younger Lady Montilyet would be in attendance, I’d assumed they’d get on. However, I did not expect the rest of the court to share that fondness.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Compromised

“Do you think we should tell them?”

Cullen glanced over at the rehaired Nightingale and followed her gaze until it was more than obvious who she was talking about. Not that he could have missed it, not really. No one managed to pass the Inquisitor by, not even when she was tucked away in some corner with Josephine at her side. 

If Leliana wanted to risk interrupting them than she was welcome to it, he decided firmly. And in the meantime, he was going to find some unoccupied corner of this damned palace. Somewhere far away from whatever mess the Inquisitor was going to drag them into next. 

The Inquisitor was a lot of things, after all, and a magnet for trouble was only one of them. From what he’d heard, others included being capable of cutting down three men at once, gutting a dragon, physically walking through the Fade, and an impressive incapability of dying. That wasn’t even including the reports he’d received from his men about the crazy mercenary band she used to belong to. They’d praised her, apparently, for sending them waist deep into a nest of rage demons and when she’d gotten word of it, she’d worn the strangest smile for the rest of the afternoon.

So, no, Cullen did not think they should interrupt the Inquisitor from her dancing for anything short of the entire palace catching on flame. Maybe not even then. And he told Leliana as much.

“You don’t know what I’m referring to, do you?” Leliana asked him, raising her eyebrows at him. Cullen hated it when she did that. It made him feel all of five years old again. Then she sighed softly. “We aren’t the only ones observing our beloved Inquisitor.”

Naturally. 

As if fate would allow the Inquisitor even an hour to bask in Josephine’s company without some emergency coming to light.

It was concerning how easily his mind shifted into the clear mindstate he usually only experienced on the battlefield once the Inquisitor’s safety was compromised. But it did and those were thoughts for another time. Except there were no suspicious figures tucked away into corners or nobles acting any more suspicious than they had been for the entirety of the evening. That didn’t exactly reassure him but surely they hadn’t managed to switch tactics that easily after the commotion earlier.

Leliana laughed. “Not _that_ type of observation. If there were a real threat to either of them, I wouldn’t be standing idly by, surely you know that much.”

“There’s some truth to that.” His shoulders dropped purposely and he found a sudden interest in the Empress’s drapery. “There’s been far too much subterfuge tonight for my liking. It has me jumping at shadows.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“Then if there isn’t a threat, what exactly is the issue?”

She smiled, a small thing that revealed only as much as Leliana allowed it to. “Look at the way they watch her. It’s far different from when we first arrived. Once I’d gotten word that the younger Lady Montilyet would be in attendance, I’d assumed they’d get on. However, I did not expect the rest of the court to share that fondness.”

“You _didn’t_ expect that? Qunari or not, all she needs to do is open her mouth before half of Thedas is scrambling to follow her.”

“Orlesians do not appreciate bluntness. And she does not appreciate subtlety.”

Cullen frowned. It was true. The Inquisitor had always requested they speak plainly with her, regardless of her newfound title but it wasn’t the nobles searching for her approval, it was the other way around. Or at least that’s what he thought. 

He took another look at the crowd that had gathered in the ballroom, carefully avoiding the none-too-subtle glances that had been sent his way all evening. It was only a matter of chance he’d managed to pry himself away from them now. That or something of Leliana’s mechanizing.

It was too difficult to pick up on the subtleties she spoke of however. There was a reason he left those things to her and Josephine. To him, it simply looked as if they were all consumed with their own conversations. Sure, some of them were likely talking about the Inquisitor but someone didn’t just save the Empress from an assassination attempt and have it completely forgotten about. 

Then the Inquisitor turned.

It wasn’t a lot. Just enough that most of the ballroom could get a glimpse of her fond smile as she stared down at Josephine. A look Cullen had seen often enough during meetings in the war room but it was enough to see what Leliana was talking about. It was difficult to miss now that it had been pointed out to him. They were watching her. Actively watching her, and as if to prove the point there was a dramatic sigh from somewhere on the other side of the ballroom.

Huh.

It wasn’t the same sort of admiration she got from the Inquisition but that was hard to replicate anyways. These people would never see her drinking whatever awful tasting shit they served at the tavern or pulling pranks with Sera or debating northern politics with Dorian. 

This was cool, collected interest, he thought. The type one displayed when they couldn’t stop themselves from being captivated with something but didn’t want to show they were. All the better, really. The Inquisitor the rest of them saw, the one who was real and far more than just legend, should only belong to the Inquisition. It was only right.

“Does it matter? They’re going to be sending her tokens of their affection anyways,” Cullen offered blandly.

“Perhaps. I doubt she would realize the power she holds anyways.” The corner of the Nightingale’s lip twitched and he gave her a pointed look. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“Bullshit.”

Leliana turned just as the Inquisitor leaned down to kiss Josephine, her steps carrying her towards the Vestibule. “I owe Varric a sovereign, is all.”

Cullen had learned enough about this new, fledgling Inquisition by now that he knew he shouldn’t ask. By all accounts, he shouldn’t even want to know. 

Yet. 

“You mean, _you_ lost a bet? Against Varric. About what?”

The Nightingale glanced back at him for a brief moment and Cullen found himself hurrying to match her graceful pace. The Inquisitor would be fine with a few less people in audience. Besides, he was certain he saw her greatsword leaning against the balcony. This was a story he needed to hear.


End file.
